The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
High tibial osteotomy is a surgical procedure used to correct a malalignment in a tibia. Malalignment in a tibia can accelerate wear in the lateral or medial compartments of the knee and lead to degeneration. Malalignment can include a varus deformation or a “bow-legged” knee condition and a valgus deformation or a “knock-knee” condition. In this regard, a varus knee can cause the protective tissues of the knee to wear more on a medial aspect of the knee. Similarly, a valgus knee can cause the protective tissues of the knee to wear more on the lateral aspect of the knee. In either scenario, it is desirable to perform a high tibial osteotomy to correct the malalignment and position the tibia in a more neutral orientation.
In one procedure, a varus deformation can be corrected by making a single cut in the medial tibia. The tibia is opened and an implant is positioned within the opening. In another procedure, a valgus deformation can be corrected by making a pair of cuts in the medial tibia and removing a wedge of tibial bone. After the wedge of tibial bone is removed, the void is closed.
When performing a procedure to correct a varus deformation, typically a surgeon would need to select an implant from a set of implants that has an implant angle suitable for the needs of a particular patient. A large inventory of implants are typically necessary to accommodate a wide range of patients. Furthermore, some implants may not match a profile of the patient's tibia in the transverse plane. In this regard, a need exists to provide a more universal implant suitable for use with a wide range of patients and related method for performing high tibial osteotomy.